Techniques for Communicating Entity References in a Messaging Thread

1. At least one computer-readable storage medium comprising instructions that, when executed, cause at least one processor to: display a message on a message thread at a recipient client device, the message comprising at least an entity reference associated with an entity; receive a user selection of the entity reference; and overlay an entity card on the displayed message thread, the entity card comprising information related to the entity and a selectable control for communicating with the entity, and wherein the entity card overlaps different portions of the displayed message thread.

2. The at least one computer-readable storage medium of claim 1 , wherein the recipient client device is associated with a recipient user account and the entity reference is associated with the recipient user account.

3. The at least one computer-readable storage medium of claim 2 , wherein the instructions further cause the at least one processor to: receive a notification for the message from a messaging system, and wherein the notification for the message indicates that the entity reference is associated with the recipient user account.

4. The at least one computer-readable storage medium of claim 3 , wherein the notification for the message indicating that the entity reference is associated with the recipient user account is based on one or more of an entity-reference-specific text segment, an entity-reference-specific icon, an entity-reference-specific sound, and an entity-reference-specific haptic signal.

5. The at least one computer-readable storage medium of claim 3 , wherein the instructions further cause the at least one processor to: receive a notification-deactivation command in association with the message thread; display a reference-notification dialog in response to the notification-deactivation command; receive a user command in response to the reference-notification dialog; and display the notification where the user command indicates reference notification.

6. The at least one computer-readable storage medium of claim 1 , wherein the selectable control is displayed on the entity card.

7. The at least one computer-readable storage medium of claim 1 , wherein the instructions further cause the at least one processor to: display a mention-navigation control in association with a message thread display.

8. A computer-implemented method, comprising: displaying a message on a message thread at a recipient client device, the message comprising at least an entity reference associated with an entity; receiving a user selection of the entity reference; and overlaying an entity card on the displayed message thread, the entity card comprising information related to the entity and a selectable control for communicating with the entity, and wherein the entity card overlaps different portions of the displayed message thread.

9. The method of claim 8 , wherein the recipient client device is associated with a recipient user account and the entity reference is associated with the recipient user account.

10. The method of claim 9 , further comprising: receiving a notification for the message from a messaging system, and wherein the notification for the message indicates that the entity reference is associated with the recipient user account.

11. The method of claim 10 , wherein the notification for the message indicating that the entity reference is associated with the recipient user account is based on one or more of an entity-reference-specific text segment, an entity-reference-specific icon, an entity-reference-specific sound, and an entity-reference-specific haptic signal.

12. The method of claim 10 , further comprising: receiving a notification-deactivation command in association with the message thread; displaying a reference-notification dialog in response to the notification-deactivation command; receiving a user command in response to the reference-notification dialog; and displaying the notification where the user command indicates reference notification.

13. The method of claim 8 , wherein the selectable control is displayed on the entity card.

14. The method of claim 8 , further comprising: displaying a mention-navigation control in association with a message thread display.

15. An apparatus comprising: at least one processor that, when executing stored instructions, is caused to: display a message on a message thread at a recipient client device, the message comprising at least an entity reference associated with an entity; receive a user selection of the entity reference; and overlay an entity card on the displayed message thread, the entity card comprising information related to the entity and a selectable control for communicating with the entity, and wherein the entity card overlaps different portions of the displayed message thread.

16. The apparatus of claim 15 , wherein the recipient client device is associated with a recipient user account and the entity reference is associated with the recipient user account.

17. The apparatus of claim 16 , wherein the at least one processor is further caused to: receive a notification for the message from a messaging system, and wherein the notification for the message indicates that the entity reference is associated with the recipient user account.

18. The apparatus of claim 17 , wherein the notification for the message indicating that the entity reference is associated with the recipient user account is based on one or more of an entity-reference-specific text segment, an entity-reference-specific icon, an entity-reference-specific sound, and an entity-reference-specific haptic signal.

19. The apparatus of claim 17 , wherein the at least one processor is further caused to: receive a notification-deactivation command in association with the message thread; display a reference-notification dialog in response to the notification-deactivation command; receive a user command in response to the reference-notification dialog; and display the notification where the user command indicates reference notification.

20. The apparatus of claim 15 , wherein the at least one processor is further caused to: display a mention-navigation control in association with a message thread display.